2013 Central Europe Technology Fast 50

Press release

Average growth of Fast 50 companies down to 671% in 2013 from 1026% in 2012

Eight countries are represented on the ranking

Companies from the Software (29 companies) and Internet (13 companies) sectors once again made up the majority of the ranking.

Romanian Internet airline ticket retailer Vola.ro has placed first in Deloitte’s 2013 Central Europe Technology Fast 50 for the third year in a row with a revenue growth rate of 5729% over the past five years. Other fast-growing companies include system solutions provider, company Bitgear Wireless Design Services d.o.o. from Serbia, growing at a rate of 1872% over the last five years – the second-fastest growing company this year, after first appearing as a Rising Star in 2011. The third position belongs to the Polish software firm Softhis Sp. z o.o., who jumped up from the 29th position in 2012 with five-year growth rate of 1573%.

This year’s Rising Stars are topped by Romanian software company INSOFT Development & Consulting SRL with a three-year revenue growth rate of 2884%. In the Big 5 category, Polish company GOCLEVER Sp. z o.o. was the fastest-growing company with 2012 revenues of over €25 million, and managed to remain in the Fast 50 main category in the eleventh position. The Czech Internet perfume retailer Internet Shop s.r.o. moved to the second position in this category after being ranked first last year.

This year’s ranking consists of companies from eight countries: the Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia and the Slovak Republic. Twenty two (22) companies made the ranking for the first time in 2013.

On average, Fast 50 ranked companies grew at a rate of 671% in 2013, a significant decrease on the 1026% average growth rate from last year’s competition.

“Activities of companies on this year’s ranking represent to a global audience the flexibility, creativity and inventiveness of our region’s business community. This is a particularly important factor as our countries continue their gradual emergence from the widespread slowdown that has affected the world economy over the last five years.” comments Marek Metrycki, Technology Fast 50 programme leader for Deloitte Central Europe.

Sectors

In terms of sectors, Software (29 companies) and Internet (13 companies) dominated the ranking, followed by Telecommunications/Networking (5 companies) and three companies in other sectors. Similar to 2012, 5 of the 10 fastest-growing companies belonged to the Internet sector.

Countries

Poland had the best representation with 22 companies in the ranking, followed by Hungary (8 companies), Romania (6 companies), and the Czech Republic (5 companies).

The Central Europe Technology Fast 50 ranks the fastest-growing technology companies based on their revenue growth over a five-year period. For the 2013 ranking, revenues from 2008 to 2012 were analysed. Revenue growth is calculated in local currency.

Main Category

In order for a company to be considered eligible for the main Fast 50 ranking, it must meet a number of criteria:

Annual revenues of at least €50,000 in each year between 2008 and 2012;

Develop or manufacture propriety technologies or spend a significant amount of capital on research & development;

Have an ownership structure that excludes majority-owned subsidiaries of strategic entities.

Winners are then selected based on ranking eligible registrants by revenue growth over a five-year period from 2008 to 2012.

Rising Stars Category

In the ‘Rising Stars’ category, Deloitte ranks ‘young’ companies that show great potential but are too new to meet the minimum of five years in operation criteria for the main category. Eligible companies must be in operation between three and five years and have to exceed revenues of €30,000 in each of the last three years (2010 – 2012). Otherwise the same criteria apply as for the main Fast 50 ranking.

Big 5 Category

The ‘Big 5’ category ranks large fast-growing companies that have achieved extraordinary growth in the previous five years. To be eligible, companies must meet the same criteria as the main Fast 50 ranking with the exception of annual revenue in the final measured year (2012), which must exceed €25 million for this category.